This invention relates to electric lamps, and more particularly to means for controlling the amount of light emitted from the lamp. Clearly, the conventional way of controlling the amount of light that the lamp emits is by means of a mechanical switch. Two-way switches have been used for over one hundred years. And four-way switches that provide three levels of brightness have also been used for many years. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide a new means for controlling the brightness of light emitted from a lamp. Such a means would be attractive at least as a novelty item.
It is particularly attractive to provide an adapter which controls the brightness of light emitted from existing lamps by a mere touching of the lamp. This would be both a novelty item and a practical item that makes control of the lamp easier. Other known attempts to accomplish touch-control of lamps however, have been carried by constructing a special purpose lamp. These lamps are specially shaped to provide room for packaging all the necessary electronic inside of the lamp. There are of course, considerable undesirable aspects to this approach. For example, the lamps themselves are restricted in shape. Further, no means is provided whereby an existing lamp can be modified to operate under touch control. Due to these and other limitations, prior art touch controlled lamps have not received wide acceptance by the public even as a novelty item.
The known prior art special purpose touch control lamps were also deficient in that their touch control circuitry was sensitive to the surroundings in which the lamp was used. If for example, the lamp was placed on a table near a large object, such as a large plant, the touch sensing circuitry would not always operate properly. Sometimes it could not distinguish between a person touching the lamp, and the presence of the large nearby object. And if the touch detecting circuitry were made less sensitive so that it would not be affected by the presence of large nearby objects, then a problem sometimes occurred wherein the sensing circuitry would not respond to slight touchings of the lamp. What is needed to solve this "sensitivity" problem, is an automatic sensitivity adjusting circuit which adjusts the sensitivity of the touch-control circuits in the lamp to be compatible with the surroundings.
Still another problem with prior art touch controlled lamps is that they must be plugged into the electric outlet in a particular manner in order to operate. That is, the 120 volts must be applied to one particular prong of the lamp plug. If the 120 volts is applied to the opposite prong, the touch sensing circuit will not operate. Typically, these lamps have labels on their cord with instructions saying that if the lamp does not work when first plugged in, then remove the plug from the wall socket and reinsert it in an opposite fashion. This is an inconvenience and thus it is desirable to provide a means for controlling the brightness of the lamp by touch regardless of how the lamp is plugged into an electric outlet.
Still another deficiency in known prior art touch control lamps is that they do not operate as a dimmer. In other words, they do not operate such that by merely touching the lamp the brightness of light emitted therefrom increases in a ramping manner until full brightness is reached. Instead, all of the known prior art touch control lamps simulate either a two-way or a four-way switch.
Therefore, it is one object of the invention to provide a control module adapter to be used with any standard electric lamp for controlling by touch the brightness of the light emitted therefrom.
Another object of the invention is to provide a control module adapter which includes automatic sensitivity circuitry for adjusting the touch sensitivity of the adapter to the nearby surroundings.
Still another object of the invention is to provide a control module adapter for controlling by touch the brightness of light emitted from a lamp regardless of which prong of the lamp plug had a 120 volts applied thereto.
Yet another object of the invention is to provide a touch operated dimmer control module for any standard electric lamp.